Preview of the 2020/2021 Premier League Season (Part II)
SOUTHAMPTON. FINAL POSITION: 10TH
Southampton finished 11th last season but following their 9-0 home defeat to Leicester City, staying up for the Saints would have been enough to make it a successful season. They did not get themselves in a relegation battle as Southampton finished the season on a high. Ralph Hassenhuttl has already made plans for the coming season, signing Ghanaian defender Mohammed Salisu and English defender Kyle Walker-Peters. They have lost midfield stalwart Pierre-Emile Højbjerg to Spurs, Mario Lemina moved to Fulham, Cédric and Maya Yoshida have all moved away from St. Mary. Danny Ings had an incredible season, scoring 22 goals with only Jamie Vardy scoring more. However, he was the only Saints player to score ten goals or more with James Ward-Prowse and Stuart Armstrong the next top scorers with only 5 each. Much more will have to come from Che Adams, who had a poor debut season in the Premier League but finished off last season quite well. Hassenhuttl has made Southampton a difficult side to beat and look to have another good season under the Austrian.
WOLVES. FINAL POSITION: 9TH
Wolves have made back to back seventh-placed finishes in their return to the Premier League. With many predicting that they would fall off, they made another run in qualifying for Europe. Even putting themselves in the mix of qualifying for the Champions League. Adama Traoré had a good year, linking up well with striker Raúl Jiménez, who scored 17 goals in the league which has brought transfer speculation as the Mexican has attracted the likes of Juventus. However, Nuno Espírito Santo and his team have just experienced a year-long season which would have affected Wolves physically. Putting them in danger in having a slow start to the season. They will not be playing in Europe next season which is a big advantage but last season's exploits will be on the legs. They have lost wing-back Matt Doherty who moved to Wolves but have signed Marçal from Lyon and Portuguese starlet Fábio Silva from FC Porto for a club-record fee. Wolves will be in contention as the best of the rest but they might suffer a drop off next season.
LEICESTER CITY. FINAL POSITION: 8TH
Leicester City finished 5th last season, which is a great achievement for the Foxes with Jamie Vardy winning the Golden Boot as well. However, they will feel like last season was a lost opportunity of making it to the Champions League having been in the Champions League spots for a majority of the season but their form in the second half of the season plus injuries to key players during the run-in dropped them to playing in the Europa League this season. Leicester's squad is not as deep as compared to the big hitters in the league which can affect their ability to rotate their squad following games from Europe. It depends on what Brendan Rodgers wants to achieve this season, doing well in the league but their performances in Europe will suffer or go on a run in the Europa League but their league form will suffer? They have lost left-back Ben Chilwell to Chelsea with Timothy Castagne their only major signing. If Leicester's form at the start of the season does not improve, Brendan Rodgers might feel some pressure to turn things around but Leicester's first team is very strong but they would not make a strong run for Europe this season.
EVERTON. FINAL POSITION: 7TH
Over the past couple of seasons, everybody hypes up Everton to somehow break into the top six or manage to be the best of the rest. However, it usually ends in bitter disappointment to the neutrals and Everton fans. Last season was no different. The Toffees finished in a disappointing 12th place with 15 defeats despite having a big transfer outlay of incoming signings in Alex Iwobi and Moise Kean. Things look to be different this time around with the experience and profile of manager Carlo Ancelotti. The former AC Milan manager is coming to his first full season back in the Premier League and has so far given the most out of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Levin with the duo scoring 26 goals together. So far they have completed the signings of Allan from Napoli and James Rodríguez from Real Madrid, players who have played under the three-time Champions League winner. That's also including Abdoulaye Doucouré from Watford, boosting their midfield. Despite that, Ancelotti will be hoping that Jordan Pickford can perform well after a poor 2019/2020 season and removing a lot of deadwood in the squad. With a high profile manager in their ranks, Everton could finally answer their critics this season.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR. FINAL POSITION: 6TH
Tottenham managed to finish in the European places last season, in contrast to how bad they started the season which cost Mauricio Pochettino his job and led to the appointment of José Mourinho. Mourinho managed to improve the results for the Lillywhites by their performances on the pitch did not excite the fans and questions will be raised on whether it was worth it. A rebuild is needed at Spurs as their squad has had little turnover over the past few years with key players at that time aging and with little depth to cover up. Jan Vertonghen has gone which could leave a big hole in their central defence. They have signed midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg from Southampton, Matt Doherty from Wolves, and Giovanni Le Celso on a permanent deal from Real Betis. They are still some holes in the squad, particularly finding an understudy for Harry Kane, as Spurs cannot depend on his fitness over the whole season. The objective for Spurs will be to qualify for the Champions League but given the strength of their competition, it looks unlikely that it would come through the league. Mourinho will make Spurs difficult to beat and will improve this season. Will that be enough to get back in the top four? Probably not.
ARSENAL. FINAL POSITION: 5TH
Things look to be on the up for Arsenal. They recently won the FA Cup against Chelsea and the Community Shield against Liverpool. Arteta has made a flying start in his managerial career so far but Arteta and the higher-ups at the Emirates know that they is still a lot of work to be done at Arsenal. The Gunners had a poor league campaign last season, finishing 8th. Their lowest league finish in twenty-five years. If not for their FA Cup win, Arsenal would not have qualified for the Europa League next season. Unai Emery was sacked with Freddie Ljungberg coming in as caretaker manager before Mikel Arteta came in. The Spaniard have made Arsenal difficult to beat with their wins over Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea. However, Arsenal has struggled to break low-block sides which is something they have to do better this season. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang remains the side's talisman, after another prolific season scoring 22 goals. They are also the exciting prospects of Bukayo Saka and Martinelli plus the signings of William Saliba, Gabriel, Cédric Soares, Pablo Marí, and Willian. Gunner fans are rightfully excited over Arteta's first full season at the Emirates but qualifying for the Champions League is a tall order to achieve but it is possible.
MANCHESTER UNITED. FINAL POSITION: 4TH
Manchester United qualified for the Champions League next season. Their form since the end of January has been great, winning nine of their last fourteen league games which propelled them back to playing Champions League football. The question now for United is whether it can become a regularity. United have a good starting XI but their squad is still not as deep nor brimming with much quality. They have noticed it with the signing of Donny van de Beek and the persisting interest of signing winger Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. Ole Gunnar Solskjær has answered many of his critics with improvements of United's form since February but it is where United fans will be hoping that they can kick on from last season. Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are coming off personal best seasons, Paul Pogba looks to have some support in midfield with Bruno Fernandes and United had the third-best defence in the league last season, justifying the fees paid for Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The Red Devils are still free away from competing with Liverpool and Manchester City for the title. Arsenal and Spurs will be hot on their tails but Solskjær and his squad should have enough to qualify for the Champions League for a consecutive season.
CHELSEA. FINAL POSITION: 3RD
Chelsea have become an exciting to watch under Frank Lampard. Chelsea scored 69 goals last season, the third-highest in the league, with a group of exciting young players in Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Billy Gilmour, and Fikayo Tomori. However, they conceded the most goals out of anyone in the top ten with 54 goals and struggled to put a good run together, experiencing defeats to Sheffield United, West Ham twice, and Southampton. They have done a lot of business in the transfer window, signing Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva, and Malang Sarr, with still a lot of business to be done. This has made Blues fans even more excited about the coming season, believing they can go toe-to-toe with Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title. This puts heavy pressure on Frank Lampard to get them off to a flying start to the new season. The Blues finished fourth with 66 points. 33 points behind Liverpool and 15 points behind Manchester City. That is some gap that they will have to cut and expecting all the signings to start well would be wishful thinking. Chelsea look to be a sure thing in the top four this season and can make things uncomfortable for Klopp and Pep but a title push is a bit too soon.
LIVERPOOL. FINAL POSITION: 2ND
Liverpool finally did it. They won the Premier League with an incredible 99 points, breaking a few records along the way in the club's history as well as the Premier League. The question now for them is whether they can do it again and if they have to refresh the squad. Jurgen Klopp has depended on a specific group of players over the past three seasons and has not let down, giving the accolades to show for it. However, Liverpool has not made a key first-team signing since 2018 with Greek defender Kostas Tsimikas their only signing so far this summer. The Reds do not need to make a heavy revamp unlike their rivals but with their success over the past few years, fans are disappointed that they have not taken that to their advantage. Only Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola have won the Premier League in consecutive seasons which will be the aim for Jurgen Klopp this time around. The likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Djik, Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, and Andy Robertson are still at the prime of their careers while fans will be hoping to see more of Naby Keïta and Takumi Minamino this season, as they will be heavily involved this season with the compressed season. Anfield is a great place right now and Liverpool is experiencing a feeling they never had during the Premier League era. Can do it again this season or will they fall off due to complacency and the improvements of their rivals? It remains a coin toss between them and Manchester City this season.
MANCHESTER CITY. FINAL POSITION: 1ST
Manchester City had a poor 2019/2020 season to their high standards. They finished 18 points behind Liverpool, were knocked out of the Champions League to Lyon, and only had the Capital One Cup to show for it. Pep Guardiola has rarely faced competition during his time at the Etihad scooping silverware like it is nobody's business but Liverpool really hurt their ego, and now they have a point to prove to their critics. They still the best squad in the league in terms of depth and quality with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Agüero, Aymeric Laporte, and Raheem Sterling. They have signed Spanish forward Ferran Torres and Dutch defender Nathan Aké but have lost David Silva, who left the club and have to prepare for life without Fernandinho and Agüero, who are both in their 30s. Guardiola's future is not so certain as well as the former Barcelona manager is entering the final year of his contract at the Etihad, with speculation on whether he will renew his contract. Improvements will have to come from their defence. They lost nine games last season, which is more than the last two winning seasons together. Teams were able to get pass the City press or City just being unlucky in games where they were clearly show their superiority. With how disappointing last season was, City will retaliate this season and will challenge Liverpool for the title this season. Hoping to reclaim the title for the third time in four seasons.
Southampton finished 11th last season but following their 9-0 home defeat to Leicester City, staying up for the Saints would have been enough to make it a successful season. They did not get themselves in a relegation battle as Southampton finished the season on a high. Ralph Hassenhuttl has already made plans for the coming season, signing Ghanaian defender Mohammed Salisu and English defender Kyle Walker-Peters. They have lost midfield stalwart Pierre-Emile Højbjerg to Spurs, Mario Lemina moved to Fulham, Cédric and Maya Yoshida have all moved away from St. Mary. Danny Ings had an incredible season, scoring 22 goals with only Jamie Vardy scoring more. However, he was the only Saints player to score ten goals or more with James Ward-Prowse and Stuart Armstrong the next top scorers with only 5 each. Much more will have to come from Che Adams, who had a poor debut season in the Premier League but finished off last season quite well. Hassenhuttl has made Southampton a difficult side to beat and look to have another good season under the Austrian.
WOLVES. FINAL POSITION: 9TH
Wolves have made back to back seventh-placed finishes in their return to the Premier League. With many predicting that they would fall off, they made another run in qualifying for Europe. Even putting themselves in the mix of qualifying for the Champions League. Adama Traoré had a good year, linking up well with striker Raúl Jiménez, who scored 17 goals in the league which has brought transfer speculation as the Mexican has attracted the likes of Juventus. However, Nuno Espírito Santo and his team have just experienced a year-long season which would have affected Wolves physically. Putting them in danger in having a slow start to the season. They will not be playing in Europe next season which is a big advantage but last season's exploits will be on the legs. They have lost wing-back Matt Doherty who moved to Wolves but have signed Marçal from Lyon and Portuguese starlet Fábio Silva from FC Porto for a club-record fee. Wolves will be in contention as the best of the rest but they might suffer a drop off next season.
LEICESTER CITY. FINAL POSITION: 8TH
Leicester City finished 5th last season, which is a great achievement for the Foxes with Jamie Vardy winning the Golden Boot as well. However, they will feel like last season was a lost opportunity of making it to the Champions League having been in the Champions League spots for a majority of the season but their form in the second half of the season plus injuries to key players during the run-in dropped them to playing in the Europa League this season. Leicester's squad is not as deep as compared to the big hitters in the league which can affect their ability to rotate their squad following games from Europe. It depends on what Brendan Rodgers wants to achieve this season, doing well in the league but their performances in Europe will suffer or go on a run in the Europa League but their league form will suffer? They have lost left-back Ben Chilwell to Chelsea with Timothy Castagne their only major signing. If Leicester's form at the start of the season does not improve, Brendan Rodgers might feel some pressure to turn things around but Leicester's first team is very strong but they would not make a strong run for Europe this season.
EVERTON. FINAL POSITION: 7TH
Over the past couple of seasons, everybody hypes up Everton to somehow break into the top six or manage to be the best of the rest. However, it usually ends in bitter disappointment to the neutrals and Everton fans. Last season was no different. The Toffees finished in a disappointing 12th place with 15 defeats despite having a big transfer outlay of incoming signings in Alex Iwobi and Moise Kean. Things look to be different this time around with the experience and profile of manager Carlo Ancelotti. The former AC Milan manager is coming to his first full season back in the Premier League and has so far given the most out of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Levin with the duo scoring 26 goals together. So far they have completed the signings of Allan from Napoli and James Rodríguez from Real Madrid, players who have played under the three-time Champions League winner. That's also including Abdoulaye Doucouré from Watford, boosting their midfield. Despite that, Ancelotti will be hoping that Jordan Pickford can perform well after a poor 2019/2020 season and removing a lot of deadwood in the squad. With a high profile manager in their ranks, Everton could finally answer their critics this season.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR. FINAL POSITION: 6TH
Tottenham managed to finish in the European places last season, in contrast to how bad they started the season which cost Mauricio Pochettino his job and led to the appointment of José Mourinho. Mourinho managed to improve the results for the Lillywhites by their performances on the pitch did not excite the fans and questions will be raised on whether it was worth it. A rebuild is needed at Spurs as their squad has had little turnover over the past few years with key players at that time aging and with little depth to cover up. Jan Vertonghen has gone which could leave a big hole in their central defence. They have signed midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg from Southampton, Matt Doherty from Wolves, and Giovanni Le Celso on a permanent deal from Real Betis. They are still some holes in the squad, particularly finding an understudy for Harry Kane, as Spurs cannot depend on his fitness over the whole season. The objective for Spurs will be to qualify for the Champions League but given the strength of their competition, it looks unlikely that it would come through the league. Mourinho will make Spurs difficult to beat and will improve this season. Will that be enough to get back in the top four? Probably not.
ARSENAL. FINAL POSITION: 5TH
Things look to be on the up for Arsenal. They recently won the FA Cup against Chelsea and the Community Shield against Liverpool. Arteta has made a flying start in his managerial career so far but Arteta and the higher-ups at the Emirates know that they is still a lot of work to be done at Arsenal. The Gunners had a poor league campaign last season, finishing 8th. Their lowest league finish in twenty-five years. If not for their FA Cup win, Arsenal would not have qualified for the Europa League next season. Unai Emery was sacked with Freddie Ljungberg coming in as caretaker manager before Mikel Arteta came in. The Spaniard have made Arsenal difficult to beat with their wins over Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea. However, Arsenal has struggled to break low-block sides which is something they have to do better this season. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang remains the side's talisman, after another prolific season scoring 22 goals. They are also the exciting prospects of Bukayo Saka and Martinelli plus the signings of William Saliba, Gabriel, Cédric Soares, Pablo Marí, and Willian. Gunner fans are rightfully excited over Arteta's first full season at the Emirates but qualifying for the Champions League is a tall order to achieve but it is possible.
MANCHESTER UNITED. FINAL POSITION: 4TH
Manchester United qualified for the Champions League next season. Their form since the end of January has been great, winning nine of their last fourteen league games which propelled them back to playing Champions League football. The question now for United is whether it can become a regularity. United have a good starting XI but their squad is still not as deep nor brimming with much quality. They have noticed it with the signing of Donny van de Beek and the persisting interest of signing winger Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. Ole Gunnar Solskjær has answered many of his critics with improvements of United's form since February but it is where United fans will be hoping that they can kick on from last season. Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are coming off personal best seasons, Paul Pogba looks to have some support in midfield with Bruno Fernandes and United had the third-best defence in the league last season, justifying the fees paid for Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The Red Devils are still free away from competing with Liverpool and Manchester City for the title. Arsenal and Spurs will be hot on their tails but Solskjær and his squad should have enough to qualify for the Champions League for a consecutive season.
CHELSEA. FINAL POSITION: 3RD
Chelsea have become an exciting to watch under Frank Lampard. Chelsea scored 69 goals last season, the third-highest in the league, with a group of exciting young players in Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Billy Gilmour, and Fikayo Tomori. However, they conceded the most goals out of anyone in the top ten with 54 goals and struggled to put a good run together, experiencing defeats to Sheffield United, West Ham twice, and Southampton. They have done a lot of business in the transfer window, signing Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva, and Malang Sarr, with still a lot of business to be done. This has made Blues fans even more excited about the coming season, believing they can go toe-to-toe with Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title. This puts heavy pressure on Frank Lampard to get them off to a flying start to the new season. The Blues finished fourth with 66 points. 33 points behind Liverpool and 15 points behind Manchester City. That is some gap that they will have to cut and expecting all the signings to start well would be wishful thinking. Chelsea look to be a sure thing in the top four this season and can make things uncomfortable for Klopp and Pep but a title push is a bit too soon.
LIVERPOOL. FINAL POSITION: 2ND
Liverpool finally did it. They won the Premier League with an incredible 99 points, breaking a few records along the way in the club's history as well as the Premier League. The question now for them is whether they can do it again and if they have to refresh the squad. Jurgen Klopp has depended on a specific group of players over the past three seasons and has not let down, giving the accolades to show for it. However, Liverpool has not made a key first-team signing since 2018 with Greek defender Kostas Tsimikas their only signing so far this summer. The Reds do not need to make a heavy revamp unlike their rivals but with their success over the past few years, fans are disappointed that they have not taken that to their advantage. Only Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola have won the Premier League in consecutive seasons which will be the aim for Jurgen Klopp this time around. The likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Djik, Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, and Andy Robertson are still at the prime of their careers while fans will be hoping to see more of Naby Keïta and Takumi Minamino this season, as they will be heavily involved this season with the compressed season. Anfield is a great place right now and Liverpool is experiencing a feeling they never had during the Premier League era. Can do it again this season or will they fall off due to complacency and the improvements of their rivals? It remains a coin toss between them and Manchester City this season.
MANCHESTER CITY. FINAL POSITION: 1ST
Manchester City had a poor 2019/2020 season to their high standards. They finished 18 points behind Liverpool, were knocked out of the Champions League to Lyon, and only had the Capital One Cup to show for it. Pep Guardiola has rarely faced competition during his time at the Etihad scooping silverware like it is nobody's business but Liverpool really hurt their ego, and now they have a point to prove to their critics. They still the best squad in the league in terms of depth and quality with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Agüero, Aymeric Laporte, and Raheem Sterling. They have signed Spanish forward Ferran Torres and Dutch defender Nathan Aké but have lost David Silva, who left the club and have to prepare for life without Fernandinho and Agüero, who are both in their 30s. Guardiola's future is not so certain as well as the former Barcelona manager is entering the final year of his contract at the Etihad, with speculation on whether he will renew his contract. Improvements will have to come from their defence. They lost nine games last season, which is more than the last two winning seasons together. Teams were able to get pass the City press or City just being unlucky in games where they were clearly show their superiority. With how disappointing last season was, City will retaliate this season and will challenge Liverpool for the title this season. Hoping to reclaim the title for the third time in four seasons.
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